The succession of calamities in Singapore became intolerable for Fernando Alonso, visibly upset after crossing the finish line in last position.. “It was a race to forget, we didn't have the pace we expected,” admitted the two-time world champion, relegated by the lack of competitiveness of his Aston Martin, a rigorous five-second penalty and a pitiful last pit-stop.

As soon as the checkered flag fell, Alonso's illuminating silence on the radio summed up the situation in the team led by Mike Krack. His engineers must have had enough after the Asturian's previous message: “The car is undriveable”. In a favorable environment like Marina Bay, the AMR23 was a hopeless disappointment.

“We must analyze all the details, because the car was very difficult to drive. It had very little grip in the rear. So yes, because of that we kill the tires very quickly after the stop. “It was a very tough race,” Alonso admitted in the mixed zone.. The initial mission of monitoring Lewis Hamilton, his main adversary in the World Cup, vanished almost from the beginning.

100,000 km in the race

Everything started to go wrong on the second lap due to a left suspension arm.. After completing 15 laps, Alonso surpassed another historic record in F1, by crossing 100,000 kilometers in the race.. However, not even that milestone could save his catastrophic Sunday.

“Too many things have happened: a mistake when entering the pits, a not very good stop, traffic…”, listed Alonso. A chain of misfortunes that began during the first safety car period, when Alonso was penalized for “crossing the white line (and the curb) during his entry into the pit lane”. This was explained by the stewards, in reference to article 12.2.1 i) of the Sports Code, which became famous after several similar episodes of Hamilton in the 2018 and 2019 German GPs.. The punishment being deserved, the truth is that the FIA did not apply itself so severely to Max Verstappen, who saved his three investigations during Saturday's qualifying session with two reprimands and a fine of 5,000 euros.

In any case, the worst was still ahead for Alonso. When he went through the pits to serve the penalty, during his second pit stop, the mechanics' lack of understanding kept him detained for 25.8 seconds.. By then, the low fuel warning on his steering wheel was activated again.. The same false alarm suffered two weeks ago in Monza.

Already behind Hamilton

To close Sunday, the man from Oviedo made a driving error that caused a yellow flag.. Such was the nonsense in the garage, that one of the Aston Martin engineers warned him of the slowdown that he himself had caused.. “I hope that soon we can forget and learn to do better in Japan,” he concluded before the microphones.

The truth is that Hamilton, after adding 16 points, has already snatched third place in the World Championship from Alonso (180-170). And this trend becomes even more pressing in the constructors' championship. Having lost third place to Ferrari, the immediate objective is to hold on against McLaren. Since the British GP, Aston Martin has barely scored 42 points in six races, while the Woking team has accumulated 110.

Igor Zubeldia (Azcoitia, 1997) has been following the same path all his life. From the small municipality of Azcoitia to the sports city of Zubieta and from the sports city of Zubieta to Azcoitia. 40 minutes by car along the AP-8 in which he gives him time to think and reflect on his career and his life, which, hands-free, he summarizes in a talk with EL MUNDO. He enjoys his eighth season as a professional, the armband that he sometimes has to wear and a Real Sociedad already installed in the elite of European football.. Now he visits a Bernabéu where Vinicius, “the most difficult player to defend”, will not be there.

Paternity in April and renewal in May. Is it the best year of your life? (Laughs) It could be. Since I started at Real Sociedad almost every year has been good or very good for me, obviously there have been good and bad moments but last year was the best season since I have been in the first team.
Has being a father changed your life? It's a new stage, a hard one and at the same time very beautiful, but at night I can at least sleep, so I have no excuses. Everyone told me that it is something that changes your life and it is, but my lifestyle has not changed much. On the weekends we have football, I'm with my friends when I can…. I'm also not a person who has thousands of plans.. I spend many hours at home, I travel with the team… I am looking after my daughter 24 hours a day, but my lifestyle has not changed.
For those who don't know him. Who is Igor Zubeldia? I am a boy from a town called Azcoitia. When I was 12 years old I started at Real and since then I have been working until I climbed to the first team and maintained myself. Right now I still live in the town, my family lives there, my friends do too, I am half an hour from the sports city and I feel very comfortable. I'm lucky. I had always been from Real and I had never imagined this. Have you not thought about leaving the town? Some people tell me 'Don't you get tired of making a half-hour trip there and then back every day?'. But I'm used to it. I have never thought about living in Donosti, neither I nor my family. I am a normal person, on Mondays or Tuesdays I go shopping at the supermarket and everyone sees me as one of the people, I am not 'the Real player'. That gives you the freedom to be calm. He doesn't even have a tattoo. I don't see myself. I like how it looks on people but I've never been one of them.. The one with dyed hair and tattoos could also be a normal guy (laughs).
What was he like when he was little? I have always been responsible, quite organized…. I did my homework…. In addition to soccer, he played Basque pelota, which is something very typical here.. At 11 years old I had to choose between football and Basque pelota and I think I made the right choice (laughs). At the time I also enjoyed it and I have friends who are in the elite of baseball, but I was 11 years old, Real calls you and makes you excited.
He is 26 years old, but he is one of the veterans in the locker room. I feel like a young veteran. Year after year the team's average is going down and I think it is a good sign, that the kids from the reserve team are contributing a lot to us.. I remember that when I started in the locker room there were people who were 30 or 31 and it made me dizzy.
Zubieta is full of 'normal' kids. Is it also a brand of the house? We give a lot of importance to normality. In the quarry, when you join Zubieta, in addition to being a good footballer, they teach you to be a person, they instill those values in you from the age of 12. I am the person I am because of Real, that is reflected in everyone. Football in the north has always been tough, but theirs is a team of quite a bit of technical quality. We have the fight, the grit and the effort, but to play the football we play is true that a little bit of quality is needed. Especially from midfield up we have a lot of talent. We have possession for a long time, we dominate…. That attracts people and has led us to where we are. At the celebration of the Cup final, it was said, among other things, “this Cup goes to Zubeldia's grandmother.” She has been gone for several years.. Before the game I made a dedication to him, we won and I knew he would be watching us. My grandmother was a support throughout my career and unfortunately she was not able to see that final. I have a thorn in that Cup because due to Covid there were no people in the stands. Returning to the locker room. Is Kubo already half Basque? (Laughs) He speaks better Spanish than us. He is one more, everyone loves him very much and he has adapted very well. Is Imanol (Alguacil) a little crazy? (Laughs) I would tell you that he has two personalities. Off the field he is charming and speaks to you with confidence, and then on the pitch he pushes a lot. Thanks to him we do what we do. He brings out the best in everyone and is a pleasure to have.
The nationalizations of Laporte and his teammate Le Normand have distanced him a bit from the national team. He was on the pre-list in March. It is good that there is competition and even more so if it is a teammate. If I tell you the truth, I have never had the goal of the national team, when I started I saw it as almost impossible. Now I am ready and it gives me a plus, and if one day the call comes it will be welcome. But now my goal is to help my team win. Is there less competition with Athletic than there was before? Today those games are also experienced in a different way. Some will say no, but a derby is always special. The rivalry is healthy, yes.
Would he go to play in Saudi Arabia? No, no… I can't tell you what he would do either because nothing real has come to me from there, but today I know what he would do. At the end of my career I might consider it, but I don't think I would. What do I think of this? Arabia, the Premier… When so much money comes into play, it depends on each person. You have to respect it.
Who has been the most difficult footballer to defend? I would say Vinicius when he faces you in the race, or Lewandowski with his back turned. But I would say Vinicius. He won't be there on Sunday, but Madrid can make two teams of a very high level. We have already won at the Bernabéu, let's see if we can repeat it.

The Endesa Super Cup is white ground, as if the post-vacation syndrome did not take the same toll as the rest. He has 11 career victories in the tournament (he has not lost since 2017), five titles in a row, the last four against Barça in the final. The same rival defeated yesterday in Murcia, this time in the semifinals, a small revenge for the last League. The recovered Campazzo-Tavares connection and, above all, the thunderous second half of Dzanan Musa were too much for the first step of the Roger Grimau project. UCAM Murcia or Unicaja will be the whites' rival this Sunday for the first title of the course. [80-90: Narration and statistics]

The new Barça post Jasikevicius against Chus Mateo's continued Madrid, more lows than highs, with only the return of Campazzo as a novelty. “The fact of knowing each other has given us an advantage,” the honest white coach said.. Among the four new faces of the Blaugrana, nine points, especially the expected Willy Hernangómez out of touch: he missed his six shots. When Musa raised the bar, no one could keep up with him.

The first classic of the season was just a simulation. More hits than hits, more bench movement than rhythm on the court and, above all, more tricks up the sleeve than tactical tricks revealed. From very early on Laprovittola was clear that it was him against the world. He finished with 27 points but, without companions (only Satoransky) in his adventure, Barça began to fade, losing energy and faith, being clearly defeated.

The Argentine was the owner and lord of the dawn, with an impeccable first quarter. When he took his first breath, after nine minutes, he had added (without error) 16 of Barça's 20 points. At the other extreme, Willy's erratic debut, as if he had not yet returned from the World Cup.

Grimau's Barça lacked concentration, a venial sin at this point. Every time he tried to leave on the scoreboard, he received a partial result of pure disconnection. And the losses killed him. To make matters worse, Darío Brizuela, also a debutant, lasted 53 seconds on the court. An unfortunate elbow from Tavares hit his forehead and sent him to the locker room, never to return.

A triple by Joel Parra set a maximum (32-25), which Madrid would not take long to overcome. Since then, another slap, Campazzo at the controls and Deck as executor, a 5-17, back and forth, basketball yes, preseason. Although this Sunday someone is going to inaugurate their official record.

Upon returning from the locker room, offensive hostilities broke out, as if a burden had been removed during the break.. Musa appeared, 10 points almost in a rush (22 was going to be signed in the second half), and Barça tried to respond as best they could to maintain equality. But Madrid continued to press, one more step in defense and, in addition, the reunion of a couple that was already up to mischief. Campazzo-Tavares, the pick and roll, to make Barça suffer, to devour a very unfocused Willy and to stretch the advantage (58-67).

A demarraje for which Barça no longer had any gas left. It's been eight years since they won the Super Cup. Madrid, this Sunday, could lift the sixth consecutive. All with Edy Tavares, the most decisive (13 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks…), the giant whom the white club has not yet been able to renew.

Joao Félix couldn't have had a sweeter debut as a starter for Barça. The Portuguese stood out especially in a first half in which the Blaugrana poured into the rival area with a goal and a virtual assist to Lewandowski, but that was only the prologue to a second half in which Ferran Torres erased his own ghosts with a stroke of the pen. and strangers with a goal from a direct free kick, an action long missed by Barcelona fans. Raphinha, just a breath later, made it 4-0 and Cancelo, who also made his debut as a starter and was especially in tune in both defense and attack, was in charge of finishing the game.. [5-0: Narration and statistics]

The former red and white player, of course, did a lot to make that dream debut possible.. From the beginning, he was terribly intense and committed to defensive tasks, both to make it difficult for Betis to get out and to recover the ball.. Regarding his combinations with Lewandowski to find the seams for the visitors, the first one did not have a prize, but it was already a warning for sailors. The Blaugrana, with Cancelo also stretching his domain towards the rival area, arrived very frequently in the first minutes, but they could not find really clear finishing options.. Until the former red and white, five minutes before the half hour of play was over, finally managed to open the can.

Cancelo's effort to recover the ball and a good assist from Oriol Romeu were the starting points for Joao Félix, after first getting rid of a defender who tried to intercept his first shot and then doing the same with the goalkeeper, end up sending the ball to the back of the net, almost falling and taking advantage of the little angle he had to debut his scoring account as a Barça player. The goal, of course, calmed Barça and rewarded their insistence on searching for Rui Silva's goal.. Before Barcelona's goal, their best option to open the light was a shot by Luiz Henrique, taking advantage of a mistake by Balde, which ended up missing the back line.. When they were trying harder to equalize, however, the second jug of cold water arrived. The Pole thanked the Portuguese for his action with an effusive hug on the pitch while, apparently, inviting him to continue along the same path throughout the entire duel.. The scoreboard, however, would not move again before the break.. And Joao Félix himself, in a quick counterattack and after combining with Ferran Torres, was on the verge of achieving the second of his own.. Rui Silva, who would be replaced at half-time by Fran Vieites, a debutant in First Division, due to some muscle discomfort that would end up knocking him out, managed to thwart his attempt with a remarkable save.. Something that Ter Stegen, following a Willian José very well sought after by Isco, had also previously been in charge of doing in the Barcelona area.

Barça took to the field ready to show themselves as or more incisive in attack than they had been throughout the first 45 minutes. On the green and white side, Pellegrini tried to find a stimulus precisely with the entry of a former Barcelona player: Abde. With little success. The Blaugrana, once again, had control of the game, practically monopolizing the ball. The motto seemed clear: be patient when looking for the option that would allow you to increase the distances on the scoreboard a little more.. Joao Félix, in fact, would soon manage to send the ball into the net again. The action, however, would finally be invalidated due to offside..

The Blaugrana, however, would achieve the third of their own with an action that had been on their backs since May 2021: a direct free kick. Since Leo Messi's traumatic departure from the club, no one had managed to do it. Ferran Torres, by giving the ball an almost devilish curve, was in charge of finally breaking said spell and thus prolonging the sweet moment he is experiencing on the pitch. With just under half an hour left in the duel, everything seemed to be more than decided.. So much so that Xavi took advantage of the opportunity for the large audience that gathered at Montjuïc to give him a warm ovation by replacing him with Raphinha who, in the end, would also join the party.. The Brazilian, overshadowed in the last League match by the emergence of Lamine Yamal, signed the scoring poker and Cancelo, in the evening, signed the final 5-0. A resounding victory that could give the Blaugrana even more wings.